The Dandies – Interview

THE DANDIES INTERVIEW

Words: Emma Bowdidge

Seductive, firebrand rock n roll band The Dandies were formed deep in the heart of Lucerne, Switzerland, by talented brothers Adrian Weber (Vocals / Guitar) & Eric Weber (Lead Guitar / Vocals) whose roots are in Baltimore, USA and their two Swiss friends Fabian Voirol (Drums) and Adi Schröter (Bass).

With a new single, new album, SXSW 2010 appearance and tour slated for next year, you won’t be able to keep your eyes and ears off The Dandies’ in 2010!

Listen to new tracks: Bootstraps and Battle Cry
www.myspace.com/thedandies

First of all can you give us a brief history of the band for the people who have never heard of you?

Well, we’re a Swiss/American Rock band. We got together in 2006, primarily just covering songs. That quickly got boring though. Then we started writing our own songs and started playing gigs as The Dandies. The Dandies are my brother Eric and I, who are fortunate enough to be Americans also, and we’re completed by our long-time Swiss buddies Fizzie Voirol and Adi Schroeter.

How does it feel to be confirmed to play SXSW 2010?

Amazing! It’s like some of our favourite bands had their big breakthrough there and some bands we really like are playing this year as well. It’s a major honour. We’ve never played outside of Switzerland and being both Swiss and American citizens it’s amazing to be playing SXSW. We feel really blessed and just can’t wait.

You’ve recently finished recording your debut album. What can we expect from it? And roughly when will it be released?

It’s a real rock album. We wanted to be a real riffy, raw rock album. Chris “Frenchie” Smith, (Our Producer) really helped us to do so and find our own sound, he’s a genius and really mentored us. He’s taught us how to really rock. As to when it’s going to be released, we don’t know yet really. Keep checking out our facebook and MySpace (myspace.com/thedandies) for updates.

You’ve uploaded a couple of tracks from the album on your MySpace, what’s the response been like to those songs?

It’s been great. It took some people by surprise, how rocky raw the tracks actually sound. People who hadn’t seen us play or heard our songs in a while were under the impression that our sound got somewhat “harder”, more rock.

What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs?

Well, we’re young guys in our early 20s. We write a lot about girls and good times out, I guess. Some of our tracks give you the space to let your imagination take over, so to a certain extent you’ll have to find out yourselves. All the songs are mostly based on our own experiences though, not made up stuff.

Do you think these topics will change over time?

Probably… I guess as we get older our ideas of life, our experiences and what we choose to do on a daily basis and all will change. We won’t be partying 21 year olds forever, will we? If we manage to stick around for a few years, I’m sure our focus will change and our experiences as a band will be reflected in our music.

What inspired you to make music together?

Our love of music, and to be honest some major bands have inspired us, like The Strokes and Kings of Leon. When those two bands surfaced, we were like wow, that’s cool, we wanna do something like that. Those bands made rock and roll cool again, it was cool to be in a band. We wished we’d have a band someday! So after first convincing my younger brother, it was a matter of time to find guys who were like minded. It was the right decision…

Who is the main songwriter? Do you all have an input on what the lyrics are?

I guess you could say we are all the songwriters. Musically we each write our own parts most of the time. Lyrics get pitched to the band by me (Adrian) and discussed, then get altered to the point that everyone is satisfied I guess.

What is the most memorable gig you have played so far and why?

Haha, good question. We’ve had a few really good ones in our hometown of Lucerne. The most memorable one, though, is a bad one I think haha. It was in 2007 and like our 2nd gig or something and we all had a bit to drink. One of our friends video-taped it and the next day we were astonished by our “show”. We were shocked and couldn’t believe it. It was funny in a bad way. It’s memorable because we learned not to drink too much before a gig.

If you could play with any band past or present, who would it be and why?

That’s a tricky one. It would have to be The Strokes or Kings of Leon for me and I think the band agrees. Just because those are the bands who made me pick up a guitar and write songs and ultimately gave us the spark we needed to form a band. That would be crazy, haha! I was going to say The Beatles but then think about all the screams and anticipating fans. I’d be too scared to open up for the fab 4 I think. Plus I’d wanna be in the audience to see ‘em play.

What do you have planned for 2010?

We hope 2010 will be a big year for us. We’ve got SXSW lined up and a few more gigs are confirmed so far. We hope to get signed but every band hopes for that. Maybe go experience the band life abroad?

Thank you for your time..have you got any parting words?

Thank you for the interview, it’s been the first we’ve given “in” the UK. Thanks! Time to crack open a bottle of champagne, haha! Happy New Year and hope to see y’all soon! Much Love, The Dandies.

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